Wednesday, July 29, 2015

EXTRA: Betts goes into baseball books w/ Canseco for defensive gaffe

It
sure wasn’t pretty, but I’m sure Chicago White Sox slugger Jose Abreu isn’t
about to give back a home run.

I’m
referring to the shot he hit, with assistance, into the bullpen at Boston’s
Fenway Park this week when the two Sox teams played against each other.

HE
HIT A shot toward the outfield that Red Sox center fielder Mookie Betts managed
to catch. But the momentum of running to the ball kept him going to where he
crashed into the outfield wall, then tumbled over it.

And
he dropped the ball – on the other side of the outfield fence!

Thereby
turning what could have been a moment that would have aired all night on ESPN
as a quality defensive play into one that will be shown over and over for years
to come. He went from hero to life-long goat in a matter of seconds.

Heck,
this catch-turned-home run may wind up being the defining moment of Betts’
ballplaying career. And Abreu, who isn’t playing as well as he did during his
Rookie of the Year season of 2014, got Home Run number 16.

IF
YOU THINK I’m exaggerating about the potential for this to define the Red Sox
outfielder, keep in mind Jose Canseco, who on May 26, 1993 turned what should
have been a fly out hit to the warning track into a home run when he misjudged
the ball – and it bounced off his head and over the fence.

Perhaps
we should have a contest – whose gaffe is more memorable? It should be noted that while Canseco suffered a blow to his ego, Betts literally hurt himself on that tumble over the fence and wound up Wednesday being put on the Red Sox' disabled list.

I’d
have to argue for Betts, because I’m sure self-righteous Red Sox fans are going
to forevermore whine that they was robbed (when they weren’t).

Although
I’m sure there are those who enjoy dumping on Canseco’s public rep every chance
they get, and will argue that NOTHING should be allowed to depose the ball off
the head video from the top spot.

I am a Chicago-area freelance writer who has reported on various political and legal beats. I wrote "Hispanic" issues columns for United Press International, observed up close the Statehouse Scene in Springfield, Ill., the Cook County Board in Chicago and municipal government in places like Calumet City, Ill., and Gary, Ind. For a time, I also wrote about agriculture. Trust me when I say the symbolic stench of partisan politics (particularly when directed against people due to their ethnicity) is far nastier than any odor that could come from a farm animal.